This stew is a festival of colour, flavor and beauty. Combination of lamb meat, carrots, prunes with Persian saffron, turmeric, fresh lime juice, …. just create a sensational dish. The recipe we are sharing here for the carrot stew is very similar to the Gheymeh one. The main difference is that in Gheymeh we use french fries for topping and in this stew we use carrots instead. You will also notice that the seasoning has slight differences.
# Drain yellow split peas and place them in a small pot, add water to cover them by 1 inch. Place the pot over medium heat. Allow the peas to cook until tender and drain. The cooking time depends on the quality of yellow peas. It might take from 15 minutes up to 45 minutes. Meanwhile it is being cooked you can move on to the next step.
# Chop the onion. Fry in a large pot with 2 tablespoons of oil until it turns golden.
# Add meat and saute for 2-3 minutes.
# Add turmeric, salt, pepper, ground cinnamon and ground cardamom. Stir until all sides of the meat are lightly brown.
# Add tomato paste and stir for 2 minutes. Pour in enough water to cover the mixture by about 1-2 inches. bring it to a boil on high heat for a couple of minutes. Then lower the heat, cover the lid and cook on medium to low heat for 30 minutes. Then add the tender yellow split peas and lemon juice and cook for another 30 minutes. Add more water whenever necessary.
# Meanwhile wash and peel the carrots. Cut them in 1-2 inch long sticks. Saute them over medium heat with 1 tablespoon vegetable oil until soft.
# Add the carrots to the stew pot and cook for 20-30 more minutes. Taste and adjust salt if needed.
Iranian Main Courses: Khoresh Morgh va Aloo (Chicken and Plum Stew)
